The 5 Best Dumbbell Exercises for Golfers

If you want to maximise your performance on the course, then working on your fitness is a must.

If you lack mobility, you’ll struggle to get into optimal positions in your swing.

If you lack strength and power, you’ll struggle with distance.

And if you lack balance, you’ll struggle with consistency of strike.

Fortunately, with some simple dumbbell exercises, we can address all of these areas.

Read on to discover the 5 best dumbbell exercises for golfers. 

1. Dumbbell Pullover

According to a 2012 literature review, the most important upper body muscles in the golf swing are:

• The lats (the biggest muscle group in the back)
• The pecs (the chest muscles)
• The core (the central part of your body)

The dumbbell pullover targets all of these muscle groups, making it a highly effective yet often overlooked exercise.

For my clients, it’s a staple because it’s easily one of the highest bang-for-your-buck dumbbell exercises for golfers. As well as training all the key upper body muscles, it also improves overhead range of motion and should stability which is hugely important for golfers.

2. Single-Leg Dumbbell Deadlift

Single-leg deadlifts are an excellent exercise for developing glute strength.

And strong glutes are key for maximising clubhead speed and protecting the lower back in the golf swing.

But that’s not all that single-leg deadlifts do.

They also help to improve your balance, which is perhaps the most underrated aspect of golf fitness.

Here’s why:

If you lack balance, the speed of your takeaway will be enough to pull you out of position on your backswing. Add to that an 80+ mph downswing and it’s anyone’s guess where your club face will be at impact.

3. Address Position Scapular Retraction

Two of the most common issues I see when assessing golfers are C-posture and a lack of shoulder external rotation.

C-posture looks like this:

Both C-posture and lack of shoulder external rotation limit the height and width of your backswing, which ultimately means less distance off the tee.

Scapular retractions are one of the best exercises to remedy both of these issues by bringing your upper back into a more neutral position.

If you spend a lot of time slumped at a desk, this exercise is for you.

4. Standing Dumbbell Rotation

If you want to maximise clubhead speed and distance, then rotational strength is key.

This is one of the best dumbbell exercises to do just that.

But that’s not all that dumbbell rotations do. 

As you get to the end range of the movement you have to use your core to ‘put the brakes on’ to stop yourself from turning too far.

The ability to resist movement in this manner is known as core stability. Core stability helps you stay in posture and is one of the most important physical attributes for preventing lower back pain.

The ability of the core to resist movement is key for golf as it will help you stay in posture and prevent excessive movement in the lower back, which in turn helps to keep your lower back free from pain and injuries.

5. Rotational Dumbbell Press

This exercise combines a squat and a rotational shoulder press.

It’s slightly more complex than the others on this list, but it’s worth taking the time to master because there are so many benefits:

• It helps you develop a proper weight shift. If you hang back in your swing, this exercise is for you.
• It helps develop core stability since you have to resist twisting when the dumbbell is overhead.
• It helps improve your ground reaction forces by teaching you to push through the ground, resulting in more speed in the golf swing.

What next?

These are just 5 of the best dumbbell exercises for golfers.

If you want to gain distance, improve consistency and prevent injuries, there are many more exercises that can help.

To discover more, and find out how to identify the best exercises for you, click here:

Best Golf Exercises With Dumbbells for More Speed and Power

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Jon Hodgkinson is a TPI-certified personal trainer and biomechanics coach with more than a decade of hands-on coaching experience. Working with clients both online and in-person at his private studio, Jon specializes in helping golfers play better, for longer. Enquire about working with him here or visit his website: Jon Hodgkinson Golf Fitness.